When the new planetarium at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City opens this Saturday, December 9, it will be the largest in the Western Hemisphere and the fourth largest in the world. Formerly, the largest planetarium in the hemisphere was the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan.

Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Manhattan planetarium, told the New York Times that the new planetarium has advantages due to greater transportation access for NJ school groups. If the new facility has a top-of-the-line projector, he added, “That’s great.” Paul Hoffman, president and CEO of the Liberty Science Center responded that his planetarium has 10 projectors.

The LSC planetarium will officially open this weekend. It boasts 88 million pixels, and an 89-foot diameter screen that can project 280 trillion color possibilities. At least 250,000 school children are expected to visit the planetarium annually.

The center, officially the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, is named after a former high school teacher who donated $5 million for its construction.